This month features the most secured purchases I’ve had in quite some time this year. It’s slightly on the inconvenient side in the fact that rent is due at the end of the week; not to mention that my roommates and I dropped some mad cash-money-dollaz on our annual Halloween bash this past weekend. Conversely, it’s a wonderful thing in that quasi-Buddhist faith is guiding my confidence in three releases in particular by Alicia Keys, Seal and Kylie Minogue. I’m so hell-bent on blindly picking up all three that I had to coin-flip for this month’s header graphic. It was either that or an unveiling of how truly abysmal my Photoshop-Fu can be with a graphic featuring all three, so I think I’ve done everyone a favor here.

I’ve already started to slowly pound out some write-ups for the end of the quarter so that I don’t get caught up in the same cyclone of labor that had me gridlocked in my room for close to 70 hours last year in December. Naysayers can shit on this year all they like, but 2007 has been a fantastic year in music for me, and I fully expect at least 10 more pending albums to lay waste to my current Top 50 lineup before it’s all said and done. We’ve got a long and dense two months ahead of us.

In other news, Britney Spears’ Blackout, as you all might already know, was advanced 2 weeks to yesterday from its original November drop date. I love it. Case closed.

♫ NOVEMBER

6 November
1. Grizzly Bear – Friend [EP]
2. Chris Brown – Exclusive
3. Jay-Z – American Gangster
4. Alicia Keys – As I Am
5. Sigur Ros – Hvarf/Heim

[I’ve never been a fan of picking up EPs, and Grizzly Bear’s underwhelming entry in the format isn’t about to convince me otherwise. Alicia Keys quietly unleashes soul fire with her second single, ‘Like You’ll Never See Me Again’, and I’m now somehow assured that her record will be nothing short of aces up. American Gangster, somewhat expectantly, manages modest success in being insurmountably better than Kingdom Come – although how it stacks up with his more classic entries (The Blueprint, The Black Album) still leaves much to be desired. Repeated listens required. On a semi-related note, the American Gangster track featuring T.I. seems to have been quietly axed from the official track listing in (unfortunate) favor for another mind-bogglingly terrible Lil’ Wayne cameo – most likely due to the Rubberband Man’s recent incarceration. Damn you, Hov.]

13 November
6. Celine Dion – Taking Chances
7. Ja Rule – The Mirror
8. Nelly – Brass Knuckles

[Ah, the wildcard date. I’m making absolutely no promises here, although I will say that Nelly’s first single sucks. Rumor mill rumblings indicate that Ja Rule’s comeback might be exclusively featured in next year’s upcoming summer blockbuster, Twice Fast, Thrice Furious, 4 Serious: The Rise and Fall of NASCAR. Other sweet and envelope-pushing hip-hop artists like Cam’ron, Cee-Lo, E-40, Lil’ Zane and South Park Mexicans are slated for guest appearances.]

19 November
9. Girls Aloud – Tangled Up

[This is either going to be one of the greatest pop records of the last 20 years or one of the most overhyped. Although, according to one of my favorite e-zines, these girls apparently already have this year wrapped up in the pop category, and their judgment values up to this point of the year have been spot-on. We shall see!]

20 November
10. David Banner – The Greatest Story Ever Told
11. Lupe Fiasco – The Cool
12. Nicole Scherzinger – Her Name is Nicole
13. Seal – System

[Seal’s already got the “pickpocket” on lock for this week, although based on a handful of Fiasco leaks that have been floating around these last few months, it would seem he demands attention too. I’m still holding my breath for Nicole to turn in something decent, even though both of her singles have been terrible so far. And David Banner’s due for at least three ass-spankin’ club joints. I’m really genuinely looking forward to hearing everything here, frankly.]

26 November
14. Kylie Minogue – X

[*shudder* It’s ridiculous how this fourth quarter is being backloaded with some of the most potentially enjoyable pop releases of the year. I’ve been going crazy for months, and it’s so frickin’ close now…]

27 November
15. Mary J. Blige – Growing Pains
16. Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/LoveSounds (Deluxe Edition)

[Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…yeah. This will be my third time purchasing FutureSex/LoveSounds.]

♫ DECEMBER

3 December
17. Radiohead – In Rainbows

[Well – they invented a new business model, so that’s cool and forward-thinking, right?]

4 December
18. B.G. – Too Hood for Hollywood
19. Ghostface Killah – The Big Dough Rehab
20. Wyclef Jean – The Carnival III: Memoirs of an Immigrant
21. Three 6 Mafia – Last 2 Walk
22. Rufus Wainwright – Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall

[Newsflash: Ghostface throws tantrum at new solo album coinciding with Wu-Tang comeback release; proceeds to shit all over their legacy. The RZA moves Wu-Tang set back one week out of respect; Ghostface is still a bitch.

But who cares, so long as The Big Dough Rehab is voted by the internetz as the best hip-hop record of the year, AMIRITE?

I’m fucking pumped to hear Rufus’ interpretations of those magical Judy Garland classics.]

11 December
23. Mya – Liberation
24. Nas – Nigger
25. Wu-Tang Clan – 8 Diagrams

[Whooooooooa, Nigger? NIGGER? This is so edgy and progressive, we just might have 2 best hip-hop records of the year. Except for the fact that Nas still has a terrible ear for beats, but honestly, the sole message of the record is completely worth the mention. I’m expecting complete shit all the same, however.]

18 December
26. Natasha Bedingfield – N.B.
27. Lil’ Wayne – Tha Carter III

[Dear Lil’ Wayne,

As a recent convert to the Gospel of Weezy, I must say that the edge of my initial excitement for Tha Carter III has been somewhat dulled by your recent string of questionable to outright awful guest appearances. First up was Kanye West’s ‘Barry Bonds’ from Graduation, which was, let’s face it, your absolute laziest cameo all year up until that point.

Not even a month later, you pop back up in Adrenaline Rush 2007 and manage to top that on ‘Whip Game Proper’, as you let Twista – who, just so you know, is still one of the most one-dimensional rappers in the game going on ten years – actually outdo your nonsensical, slightly off-beat rambling.

Then you step in on American Gangster to fill Tip’s void on a newly-inducted ‘Hello Brooklyn 2.0’, and you do his memory injustice. You’re noticeably nimbler this time around, but now the point of contention is the beat: you still sound like shit because you’re half-speak-singing over one of Hova’s ear-grating Kingdom Come D-sides. You have better taste in beats than that, and I expected more.

Finally, you showed up to a Chris Brown studio session (?!) to contribute to Exclusive’s ‘Gimme What Ya Got’ a stuttering, non-syncopated opening verse that matched neither cadence or vibe of the song. I didn’t even know what was happening until I realize Chris Brown himself had to chime in and clean house with his feel-good chorus, a day which I thought I’d never live to see.

For months up until now, I pinned all my hopes and dreams for that one knockout hip-hop record of the year on you, self-reportedly the Greatest Rapper Alive. Tha Carter II was balls-to-the-walls amazing front to back, and your recent string of mix-tapes have literally been setting new standards for creativity. You’ve shown that a rapper can still be lyrically centric around socially conscious issues without bogging down a growing and infectious mainstream appeal, but yet I still can’t get past how an artist of your stature can turn in such terrible lyrics or languid delivery. Hopefully this is just something that you can leave at the door on other hip-hop artists’ joints, but it’s still a valid issue that needs to be brought to your attention. All eyes are on you now, good sir, and fans like me are going to be expecting the same straight fire you delivered on tracks like ‘Make It Rain’, ‘We Takin’ Over’, and hell, even the reserved R&B cool you demonstrate on Playaz Circle’s ‘Duffle Bag Boy’ 100% of the time. If not, then you at least owe it to The People that you try your best and cull from your reported 300-track Carter III sessions the best you have to offer.

Good luck to you, and may hip-hop live on in your work.

Cautiously Optimistic,
Hanson]

~ TO BE ANNOUNCED ~

28. A Camp
29. Ambulance LTD
30. Annie
31. The B-52s
32. Beach House – Devotion [26 February 2008]
33. Victoria Bergsman – Open Field
34. Beyonce
35. Big Boi
36. Black Eyed Peas
37. Blind Melon
38. Blondfire [2008]
39. Blur
40. The Boy Least Likely To
41. British Sea Power
42. Laura Burhenn
43. JC Chasez – Kate [reportedly shelved]
44. Coldplay [2008]
45. Britt Daniel
46. Dave Matthews Band
47. Dengue Fever – Venus and Earth [22 January 2008]
48. Dido [10 March 2008]
49. Mike Doughty – Golden Delicious
50. Doves
51. Dr. Dre – Detox [2008]
52. Missy Elliott
53. Estelle – Shine
54. Eve – Here I Am
55. Final Fantasy – Heartland
56. Franz Ferdinand
57. Fugees
58. Goldfrapp – Seventh Tree [26 February 2008]
59. Emmylou Harris
60. Imogen Heap
61. Keri Hilson – In a Perfect World
62. Whitney Houston
63. India.Arie
64. Janet Jackson
65. Jewel
66. Lil Jon – Crunk Rock
67. Michael Jackson
68. Jem
69. Ladytron
70. Blake Lewis – Audio Daydream (ADD)
71. Stephen Malkmus
72. Shirley Manson
73. Madonna [2008]
74. The Magnetic Fields – Distortion [15 January 2008]
75. Massive Attack – Weather Underground
76. Mercury Rev
77. Metric
78. N.E.R.D. – N*R*D*3
79. Thao Nguyen – We Brave Bee Stings and All [29 January 2008]
80. The Pixies
81. Portishead
82. Postal Service
83. Cat Power – Jukebox [22 January 2008]
84. The Prodigy
85. The Pussycat Dolls – Double the Trouble
86. The Raconteurs
87. Robyn – Robyn
88. Rogue Traders
89. Roxy Music
90. Raphael Saddiq
91. Sisqo – The Last Dragon
92. Rachel Stevens
93. Sunday Munich
94. Chris Thile – How to Grow a Woman from the Ground
95. Usher – The Truth [November]
96. Sara Watkins
97. Sia – Some People Have Real Problems [2008]
98. Wolf Parade
99. Rachael Yamagata